Researched and compiled by Diane McFaul Hindman, Slaughter Beach Historical Society, with thanks to multiple sources, including a 2021 interview with Judy Diogo, Milford Chamber of Commerce, Delaware State News articles from 1979, 1980 and 1991, and a recent 2024 interview with Eric Burnley, Cape Gazette and WGMD.
According to Fred Bonner, reporter for the Delaware State News on Mar. 11, 1979, there were “crowds of fisherman flocking here to fish during the spring run, who said how good the fishing was in the Delaware Bay. Sea Trout were abundant and astounded even the Old Timers by their size! So, the Milford Chamber of Commerce decided to sponsor the first World Championship Weakfish Tournament and bring national attention to Slaughter Beach!”
The first tournament was a single day event scheduled for May 19, 1979, organized and operated by go-getter Jack Nyland, the Executive Director of the Southern Delaware Chamber of Commerce. It was based out of the Cedar Creek boat ramps at Slaughter Beach. Tickets were sold to 100 boats for $100 and included a dinner at Slaughter Beach Fire Hall the same night to announce the winners.
The parking lot at Cedar Creek ramps was the staging area, and the Committee would meet there at 4am every morning for registration, boat inspection, emergency preparedness, and later for fish weigh-in as boats returned at 4pm. The tournament went on regardless of weather, unless a small craft advisory warning went out, and then the Committee would call the boats back. As the boats launched, they would travel up the Creek, and out the Mispillion Inlet until they were clear of the Jetty, amassing outside the channel and into the Delaware Bay, see photo below.
There they would await the arrival of the Tournament Boat to blow the horn around 7am, signaling the official beginning of the fishing day. At that point, everyone would head off to their favorite fishing spots, no limits on where they could go, as long as they stayed in the Bay, and could return to the dock for weigh in by 4pm.
(Photos from Delaware Archives, Dept of Economic Development, circa 1979-1988)
The first tournament was so successful that the following years, it was expanded to a 3-day event, usually held in May or June. People came from all over the country to try for local prizes as much as $5000. A fish setting a World Record could win up to $50,000 and a Jeep to drive home the money! Registration jumped to 150 boats, with 4 fishermen allowed in boats of all sizes, from Boston Whalers to 35 footers. There were numerous, big-name sponsors and celebrities who brought national attention to the event which also included a trout cooking contest and a boat show at Mispillion Marina. This became big fundraiser for food provided by local groups including the Milford Elks Club, Delaware State Police, and Slaughter Beach Fire Company. The awards banquet had to be moved to the Sheraton Hotel in Dover to accommodate over 450 people.
As numbers of weakfish declined, the tournament was stopped. However, as the fish population improved again, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford, led by Executive Director Judy Diogo, and a group of local business/fishermen brought the Tournament back in the late 1980’s. The World Championship Weakfish Tournament Committee was comprised of Bob Lank, John Pierce, Jimmy (JP) Parker, John Lupinetti, Sonny Lomax, Lance Wilgus, Lee Spence, Bob (Doc) Cooper, Scott Rose, and Wayne Gordineer. In the 1990s, the average was 150-200 boats/day.
Along with promoting fishing in the area, one of the goals of the Tournament was to encourage conservation and preservation of the Weakfish. A University of Delaware biologist was often on hand to do testing on donated fish, and a donation also made to DNREC to help further their research.
1988 picture above shows an arrow pointing to the Mispillion Harbor, with the old Mispillion Lighthouse, the Steel Light Beacon, and the restaurant present at that time.
Excerpts from reporter Eric Burnley, local outdoors and fishing reporter for the Cape Gazette and WGMD.
Mr. Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. He covered every tournament from 1979 until 1989, usually riding on boats reserved for reporters or tournament sponsors.
Below is from his article in “The Fisherman Magazine” May 2021: Delaware Bay Weakfish: Is 2021 the Year for a Return? This is a reminiscence relating a personal experience during a 1980s World Weakfish Tournament. https://www.thefisherman.com/article/delaware-bay-weakfish-is-2021-the-year-for-a-return/#close-modal
“I was one of the local guides who shepherded guests around the bay to show off the excellent weakfish action. I ran down the Mispillion River from Milford in my 20-foot Bertram Moppie. I kept the boat in Milford, DE to avoid the zoo that was the launch ramp at Cedar Creek every morning during the World Weakfish Championship Tournament sponsored by the Milford Chamber of Commerce.
After we cleared the long, rock-lined Mispillion Inlet, and neared our destination, we saw a charter boat mate’s rod bend over and we knew he was into a big fish. Almost instantly everyone on his boat was fast into big trout and so were we! All four of our rods went off at the same time giving us plenty to do, but somehow, we managed to get all of the fish into the boat.
Once the weakfish began to bite, there was no stopping them – it was dropping the bucktail down, set the hook and begin the fight. I have no idea how many weakfish we caught that morning, but I know they were all in the 6- to 8-pound class. Once we had enough on ice for dinner, we played catch and release until we headed back to the dock.”
Then and Now: ‘I am sure some who are reading this remember those glory days when weakfish ruled Delaware Bay. I also remember when there were very few trout. Back in the 1950s my grandfather and I would rent wood boats from a lady in Slaughter Beach, put on our 7.5-HP Elgin motor and run out to the Coral Beds and catch croaker. I only remember catching trout on one trip. We both caught one each and, although they were big fish, they were the only trout I saw in Delaware Bay until I returned from the Navy in 1965.
I have been doing fishing reports for Delaware Bay in The Fisherman Magazine since 1974. Back when weakfish were plentiful you had to have at least a 10-pounder to get your name in the report. I think the minimum for a Delaware citation was 9 or 10 pounds.
But in 2020, I have yet to catch a weakfish over the required 13-inch minimum size, but I did see charter and head boats come back from Delaware Bay with their one-per-person over 13 inches weakfish limit. This is the first time in a long time I have seen that.
So where are these trout being caught? Pretty much where everything else in Delaware Bay is caught – on the artificial reefs. Delaware has one of the very best artificial reef programs along the East Coast with eight in Delaware Bay. Weakfish, like most other fish, will hang out over structure where the stuff they like to eat lives. This includes crabs, worms, small fish and shrimp. The artificial reefs attract all of that stuff and more, plus, they provide a place to hide from larger predators.
In this day and time, fishing for a big weakfish is a lot like hunting unicorns. The chance of catching one is slim, but the satisfaction of doing so is very rewarding.”
Many thanks to Eric Burnley, whose recent interview and many previous articles have helped us to walk in the shoes of local fisherman from 50 years ago …. Then and Now!